Bill Wente (67since67) 1966 Survivor SS396 Chevelle!

[Xplantdad]

John Hopkins, a cotton farmer from Centre Alabama, took delivery of this 1966 Chevelle SS396 from Burkhalter Chevrolet Company in Centre on October 28th, 1965. Because of the nature of his work it was never used as daily transportation. Conversation with John plus maps and brochures in the glove box revealed that numerous trips were made to Florida's Gulf coast.

January 8th of 1978 the oil was changed at 59,310 miles. On January 13th of 2001 the oil was changed using Quaker State 10-30 at 61,950 miles. Today the milage is 62,240.


In November of 2009 John traded the Chevelle on a new Corvette. I asked him if he ever regretted parting with the Chevelle, he said no, he had always wanted a Corvette. Sadly John passed away in 2014.

After trading the Chevelle in 2009 it fell into the possession of a collector friend who named it "Belle". I acquired it in 2013 as part of a three way shuffle. In 2014 at MCACN Vintage Certification it was awarded "Legend" status with a composite score of 93%. It is a true sweetheart and one of my favorites to drive, a real Southern Belle!

Bill Wente









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[Xplantdad]

Engine shots including the early production five hole hood






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[Xplantdad]

Interior pics including glove box contents including the real original POP and front license plate screws, with the circles on the heads






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[Xplantdad]

The important numbers!!






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[Xplantdad]

Here's a bunch of detail pictures...if you hover over the pictures, it will give you some info about the picture!




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[Xplantdad]

Here's more detail pictures...if you hover over the pictures, it will give you some info about the picture!


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[Xplantdad]

The all important docs!






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[Xplantdad]

"By The Numbers"






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[Xplantdad]

And the final picture, the original owner, Mr. John Hopkins! :biggthumpup:






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[Astock]

Really nice!

[firstgenaddict]

Absolutely gorgeous Car and in the hands of a great steward.
Congrats on this one... Black with white and survivor - could one ask for more?

[69L78]

Very Nice Survivor Bill, I will share some pics of my latest survivor find soon.

[bobm67]

Wow Bill, another great car too add to your great collection.

[napa68]

Stunning! Just Stunning!

[MosportGreen66]

Bill, wow! Congrats! Stunning survivor

[Postsedan]

I couldn’t agree more....nothing better than seeing Great Cars get in the hands of Great Owners.....that - Get It!

I remember this Beauty in 2014 at MCACN....Stellar!!!

Well done :)

Dan

[1967Z28]

Black with white interior is my favorite. The originality of this one is over the top cool. Super nice car, Bill. Congrats, and thanks for sharing.

[Too Many Projects]

Yep, WOW, to see this so carefully stored and preserved all these years is stunning. The detail pics are a treasure trove of accuracy for an early build.

[72-SS-L48]

Love it Bill. Great survivor!

[Bill Pritchard]

Stunning. Love that white interior. Congrats to both Mr. Hopkins and Bill for preserving such a beautiful machine.

[carnut4life]

What an unbelievable survivor in the best color combo possible! Congratulations Bill.

[olredalert]

----What a car! The interior is spectacular as is the rest of this Chevelle. I noticed no tire call out on the paperwork. Were redlines the standard tire? Did you get the mag wheels pictured in the purchase?

[cook_dw]

Wow

[ls6owner]

That is one beautiful car! Congratulations Bill.
Oliver

[SS427]

Definitely a stunning car and thanks for allowing us the pleasure to help you clean her up. That car was full of very interesting original assembly line details.

[dykstra]

Beautiful car Bill! Congratulations

[russ69]

Awesome 66. Thanks for posting.

[67since67]

----What a car! The interior is spectacular as is the rest of this Chevelle. I noticed no tire call out on the paperwork. Were redlines the standard tire? Did you get the mag wheels pictured in the purchase?

Yes, the interior is particularly nice, beyond the typical yellowing of the dash plastic it is pretty much flawless.
The 7.75x14 redline is the standard tire for this car.
These correct for '66 covers were on the car when I acquired it.

[67since67]

Definitely a stunning car and thanks for allowing us the pleasure to help you clean her up. That car was full of very interesting original assembly line details.

Thank you!!
As we know Rick, it was an oily greasy mess under the hood!! Thank you for helping me uncover the patina that was hidden beneath!

Just recently I took it a step further. Some serious cleaning of the chassis and wheel wells revealed more original paint and markings under that Alabama red dirt.

[67since67]

Thank you everyone for the kind words, all are much appreciated!!!

Thank you Steve for giving us a platform for all to share our common interest in great cars.

Special thanks Bruce for your time and effort in putting these stories together. :youguysrock:

[TimG]

Bill, what a great car and a great stable mate for your beautiful 1967 Corvette.
What did you use to clean the chassis if you don't mind me asking? It looks spectacular.

[GrumpyJeff]

Whoa !!! 66's are my favorite & that color combo too !!! Now i know what my dream Chevelle would actually looks like , Stunning Car !!!

[60sStuff]

Hi Bill,

This UFO, Unrestored Factory Original .... Survivor is Amazing!

Your 66 (10C) SS “Belle” is about one year newer than my 65 (11A) GTO “Cordelia”.

Unfortunately both our Original owners of these Survivors passed in 2014.

I’m sure they are proud of themselves for taking such good care of the cars they purchased New so all of us today can still enjoy them.

Your ‘66 Survivor is getting its own folder on my PC.

THANK YOU for sharing, Chris.

[scuncio]

Nice car and GREAT colors.

[RPOLS3]

Wow - just wow. Great car thank you for sharing.

[MYSTERYCHEVELLE]

I knew BELLE and indeed she’s a special kind of sexy!! Thanks for sharing her with everyone Bill !!

[BJCHEV396]

Wow que bella! Contrats Bill!

[L78_Nova]

Great Car !! GREAT GUY !!!!! Congrats Bill

Gary

[67since67]

Bill, what a great car and a great stable mate for your beautiful 1967 Corvette.
What did you use to clean the chassis if you don't mind me asking? It looks spectacular.

Thank you Tim!
Purple Power full strength with scrub brushes, and a worn out grey Scotchbrite pad for tough areas, being careful with the paint. Follow up with a WD-40 wipe down. The floor pans, Simple Green and towels.
The results are well worth the effort for me.

Any chance you will be at the Cedar Rapids IA NCRS Regional in June? That's 65 miles down the road from me.

[TimG]

Thank you, Bill. I have a car coming that will require some cleaning.

[L_e_e]

Amazing car, this should be the benchmark for all cars claiming to be a "survivor"

[67since67]

Hi Bill,

This UFO, Unrestored Factory Original .... Survivor is Amazing!

Your 66 (10C) SS “Belle” is about one year newer than my 65 (11A) GTO “Cordelia”.

Unfortunately both our Original owners of these Survivors passed in 2014.

I’m sure they are proud of themselves for taking such good care of the cars they purchased New so all of us today can still enjoy them.

This Survivor is getting its own folder on my PC.

THANK YOU for sharing, Chris.

Thank you Chris!!
I have gone back to the thread on your GTO a couple times, it is incredible and glad to see it in the hands of a caretaker who shares my passion for unrestored cars!!:beers:

Yes, these original owners are the real heroes here for preserving them, allowing us to have the privilege to carry that forward.

Bill W

[BillD]

Bill, Thanks for sharing. Great reference pictures. Beautiful Chevelle.

[jwbavalon]

Well looked after survivor. Great pictures.

[grantprix]

Absolutely love this car!! What an amazing time capsule!! Those mag covers are so cool, I always put those on my past '66s as well...

[67since67]

Absolutely love this car!! What an amazing time capsule!! Those mag covers are so cool, I always put those on my past '66s as well...

Thank you Grant!

I am not a fan of N96 covers on every car, but they are so right on a '66 Chevelle, especially a black one IMO.

[60sStuff]

Bill,

I’m still drooling over this Survivor of yours.

Question, does your RH bucket seat happen to have a safety spring clip that mates to the seat back bumper?

Thanks, Chris.

[Too Many Projects]

does your RH bucket seat happen to have a safety spring clip that mates to the seat back bumper?


My mind tends to wander at times and as I read this I was trying to imagine what their "off spring" would look like...:crazy:

[67since67]

Question, does your RH bucket seat happen to have a safety spring clip that mates to the seat back bumper?


Yes, it does have the clip. It also has the early production "Small Ear Muff" sail panels like your GTO.

Thanks again to all for your comments!!

Bill W

[BlackL78M22Nova]

Great car Bill! Thanks for sharing! Mark